First Ink
by Xx.LoveIsABlessing.xX
Summary: Nothing's wrong with a little act of rebellion every now and again, ya just gotta be careful where you go with it... Ty/Amy


**First Ink**

"Baby you don't have to be here for this, you know."

"Yes I do. If you're so determined to get this, then I'm determined to be by your side while you do it. Besides, if it hurts as bad as everyone says it does, you're going to need me."

Ty chuckled as he lay back on the bed like table that he'd been instructed to lay on, stripped of his shirt and grinning at Amy as she held tightly to his hand.

It was Ty's eighteenth birthday and, as an act of rebellion against his father, he was getting a tattoo; a tribal design that he'd secretly been designing for the past month. It covered his left shoulder and flowed a little ways over his back and over his chest, stopping short of his left shoulder blade and halfway down his left pectoral muscle, then down his arm to his bicep in what Amy had learned was called a 'half sleeve'.

Amy would admit that it was going to take some getting use to, but it wasn't necessarily an eyesore. The way Ty had designed it, all black with thick weaving lines and swirls every so often. The stencil that they'd put on for the tattooist to follow was flawless and looked good against Ty's skin.

"Why are you so nervous, Ames? You're acting like you're the one about to get inked." Ty grinned at her teasingly.

"Aren't you at least a little nervous? You're about to permantly mark yourself with this and it's going to be so many needles piercing your skin at once and -"

"Hey, it's alright, calm down," Ty squeezed her hand gently. "It ain't like it's gonna kill me, Ames. It'll sting a little, sure, but I'll be fine."

"If you say so." Amy muttered as the tattoo artist, a man named John, came over with the tools of his trade; an ink gun and the ink that he would use to color in Ty's tattoo. John himself sported a full sleeve tribal tattoo on his right arm and a tattoo of a cross on his left arm. He smiled at Amy kindly as he pulled on gloves.

"Nervous for him, huh?" He asked as he got the gun ready and sat down in a chair by Ty's side.

"He isn't nervous, so someone has to be." Amy sighed.

"Ah, he'll be fine. He's a big boy." John said. He turned to Ty, "Ready?"

Ty nodded, "Yep."

Grinning, John started on the stencil outline on Ty's shoulder, starting at the part of the tattoo that came down his chest. Ty winced at the initial pain, but kept quiet and ignored it for the most part. He watched John a moment and saw that every so often John would lift the gun from his skin and wipe away the excess ink with a rag.

"So how long do you think this'll take all together?" Ty asked as John worked.

John hummed in thought a second before answering, working away deligently, "I can have it done in about four hours."

"Four hours?" Amy asked in alarm.

John didn't glance up as he worked, "This tat is a pretty good sized one, even thought it's not fully covering the entire area I'm working on. Shading it in will take a while, and it's not something that you want to rush."

Amy sighed, they were in for a long, long wait. She looked down at Ty to see how he was handling the needles and was surprised to see that he didn't even seem to be noticing what John was doing, he had changed the subject of the converstation to past tattoos that John had done and the two were talking calmly about a tattoo that John had done a few days before where a young woman had wanted a portrait of her deceased brother.

"It was a really sweet picture she brought in. The little guy was only about three when he died." John said.

"What did the tattoo look like?" Ty asked.

"She had brought in a picture of him playing with a puppy, the two of them both running after a ball. He had such a big grin on his face." John said.

"That must have taken a while, with so much detail in it." Ty observed.

John wiped away more excess ink, now moving up Ty's shoulder, "It took two settings, each one about five hours a piece. But it was completely worth it to see her face when it was done."

Ty smiled softly, "I can only imagine."

John grinned, "With all tattoos, but especially portraits, I just wish I could finish them in one day so that the person can start enjoying it sooner, but that isn't always the case. Sometime it's too big, sometimes too detailed, and then there are those few times when it just hurts the person so badly that we have to stop and try again another day."

"I think there's more of those lask kind then you're wanting to let on." Ty quipped.

John chuckled, "Well, there may be more than just a few." He admitted.

"Knew it." Ty said with a small laugh.

"But it doesn't look like you're going to be one of those. By now they had all started crying and whimpering." John noted and Ty grinned.

"No, I wanna get it done today if we can. The sooner it's done, the sooner I can show it off." Ty said.

John raised an eyebrow, "You're just now turning eighteen, right?"

"Today." Ty confirmed.

"Hm, any particular reason you were so ready to ink up?" John asked.

"I guess I'm kinda rebelling against my Dad. He's always been really strict on me and this is kinda my way of saying 'it's my life, I'll do what I want with it'." Ty admitted.

"Ah. I hear that so often when teenagers come strutting in here on their eighteenth birthday. So many of them are spoiled brats that the real world is going to slap in the face, but you don't seem to be like that." John said.

"I would hope I'm not. I've had to work for everthing I've got, so I guess that helps me out a lot. My Dad just really hates my choice of work." Ty said.

Amy looked away guiltily and Ty saw. He squeezed her hand again and she sent him a glance. He returned it with a reassuring smile and she couldn't help but smile back at him.

"A problem with your line of work? I gotta admit, I've only heard that line from strippers, you a stripper or something?" John asked, raising an eyebrow and grinning.

Ty laughed at that and Amy had to smile in amusement.

"No, nothing like that. Ugh, there's no way I could do that. I work with horses, and he hates it." Ty explained.

"What's so bad about that?" John asked.

"He says I'm never going to be anything because I dropped out of high school. He's wrong of course, but I guess it didn't help his view on my job when a tornado a few years back put me in a coma." Ty said.

John was surprised; he remembered something on the news from years ago about a tornado putting a local teen in the hospital, comatose. That had been this kid?

"So why does he blame what you do instead of the tornado?" He asked.

"The barn that the horses were in got damaged during the storm and Amy and I were going in to get them out. Well the horse that I was getting panicked and it caused the barn to come in on us. The horse died and I was hospitalized." Ty said. He still felt that raw slash of guilt that he hadn't been able to get Dylan out of the barn, even after years had passed since the accident.

"Oh. Now I can see why he wouldn't want you around horses anymore." John said.

"Yeah, but he takes it too far." Ty said, his eyes narrowing as his anger with his Dad came to the surface.

Amy bit her lip, as she saw it and swallowed. She could only imagine what Brad Baldwin's reaction would be when his son came home with a tatted up shoulder.

There was going to be a big fight in the Baldwin household that night, she knew that much for certain.

_'Lord, please help them to work it out so that they'll stop tearing their relationship apart. They're father and son! They were close when Ty was growing up, why can't they be close now that he's grown?' _Amy prayed and sighed, shaking her head slightly.

And men said women were complicated, they had _no_ idea.

_**FI**_

"And there we go, all finished." John sat back in his seat and with a smile as Ty grinned excitedly and cautiously sat up, not wanting to do anything to damage that tattoo. He stood and went over to the mirror that John had pointed out to him.

The tattoo had taken just over four hours and was completed. Ty's skin was red and raw from the process, but he had a big grin on his face as he looked at the results in the mirror.

"Wow, it looks really good." Amy said as Ty turned in the mirror so that he could see all of it.

"Thanks so much." Ty said to John as the man packed up his equipment and threw away the used gloves.

"Anytime. Now let me tell you how to care for it and then you're out of here." John said.

"I'll go ahead and pay for it while you learn how to take care of it." Amy offered and Ty handed her his wallet.

"Thanks babe." He said as he walked over to where John stood with a small care packet in his hands that consisted of a set of instructions and various samples of substances to put over the tattoo.

Going to the front counter, Amy couldn't help but notice the way the girl that was working there was checking Ty out from the corner of her eye, biting her pierced lower lip as she watched him. It was easy for Amy to recognize the lust in the girl's eyes.

"We were told that it would cost about three fifty?" Amy asked as she got to the desk and openned Ty's wallet, trying to ignore the look in the girl's eyes. Ty loved her, she knew better than to feel threatened by a stranger who saw Ty and wanted him. After all, it was either realize that Ty loved her and would never betray her or be jealous of every girl that sent a glance Ty's way, which was pretty much every single female that saw him. Too much energy to worry about them unnecessarily on Amy's part.

The girl jerked her eyes away from Ty to look at Amy, "I have to see the tattoo to know the correct price."

Amy frowned, "Ty and I are the only one's in here, who else could it be for? Besides we were told it was three fifty."

"Ma'am I have to see the tattoo to be sure." The girl said stubbornly.

Amy's confusion was evident as she shrugged and returned to Ty's side.

Ty frowned as he saw the confusion on her face as she came back. John had put a jelly on his tattoo and carefully wrapped it in a light gauze to protect it. He'd have to be sure to keep it clean and covered for the next few weeks.

"What's wrong, Ames?" He asked as she handed him back his wallet.

"I can't pay for it, you have to. She has to see the tattoo to determine the price." Amy said.

"Is that what she told you?" John asked with a frown. Amy nodded and John groaned and rolled his eyes, "She's lying. She just wants a chance to flirt. Go on and pay for it, there's no reason for her to be a little brat to you so she can flirt with your boyfriend."

Amy raised an eyebrow as Ty handed her back his wallet. There was no way he was going to that counter now, he didn't want to give that girl even a chance to talk to him. He was blessed to be with Amy, and he wasn't going to do anything to give some girl the idea that she could come between them.

"Victoria! You better ring that girl up! The boy is busy and they're in a hurry!" John called out as Amy walked back to the counter.

Ty grinned at him, "We're in a hurry?"

"You are so she'll shut up and ring you out. Otherwise she'll keep it up until you yourself go to that counter to pay." John said as Ty picked up his shirt, his shoulder a little stiff and sore as he carefully pulled it on.

"Thank you." Ty said and John shook his head.

"No reason to thank me, she needs to stop flirting with anything male that comes into this shop. I swear, it's really annoying and it's going to end up costing us customers because of jealous girlfriends." John sighed, "I hope she doesn't cause a problem between you and your woman."

Ty's lips quirked, "I'm sure she won't, Amy knows that I love her with all my heart. We've been together a few years now."

"Good to hear it. Well, you're all set so I'll let you go on and enjoy the rest of your birthday. Happy birthday." John said and shook Ty's hand.

"Thanks again." Ty said as he picked up the small care packet and left, Amy meeting him by the door. He reached out and took her hand, raising it to his lips to get a point across as they stepped out of the door. He didn't look back to see if the girl at the counter had seen or not.

Going over to his truck, Ty unlocked the doors and opened Amy's door for her before going around to his side and getting in. He left his seatbelt off to keep it from rubbing his shoulder as he started the truck and backed out of the parking spot.

"Thanks for going with me, Ames. I probably would have been a lot more nervous if you hadn't been there." Ty admitted as he pulled out onto the highway.

Amy smiled at him, "Anytime, love. Now, I get to buy you supper for your birthday. Pick anywhere you want."

Ty grinned at her, "You already got me a present." He reminded her, motioning to the card and t-shirt in his backseat.

Amy shrugged, "I don't care, I'm buying you supper. Now pick a place."

Ty chuckled, "Alright then. Does the dinner sound okay to you?"

"Why not the steakhouse?" Amy asked with a small frown.

Ty shrugged, "What's wrong with the dinner?"

Amy tilted her head before smiling at him, "Nothing's wrong with it. You're the birthday boy, let's go to the dinner."

Ty chuckled and drove towards the dinner, his stomach growling at the thought of food. "Maybe John was wrong, I mean, you spoil me." He teased as he drove.

Amy laughed and leaned over to kiss his cheek. She settled back into her seat before asking her next question, "So when are you going to show your parents your new tattoo?"

Ty thought a moment and a sheepish expression came to his face, "Now that I think of it, I may wait until it's healed to show them, then just walk down to breakfast shirtless one day or something to surprise them."

Amy grinned, "Why not tonight? You were so excited to be a rebel."

"Yeah, well, let's just say the rebel in me didn't last too long." Ty admitted.

They pulled up to the dinner and Ty parked, jumping out before going to open Amy's door for her. She raised an eyebrow at the nerves she saw in his eyes.

"Are you really that nervous about showing your parents your tattoo? You're so proud of it." She said.

"I know, but if things go the way I think they might, this may be my version of the last supper we're about to have." Ty said as he took her hand and led her inside the dinner.

Amy chuckled, "Now Ty, you know better than to believe that your dad would ever so much as lay a hand on you."

They settled into a booth and picked up their menues.

"Yeah well, he's really going to hit the room about this one." Ty said.

Amy rasied an eyebrow at him, "It's not worth it anymore?" She asked.

Ty grinned at her easily, "Oh it's still worth it, I just don't want him to have a heart attack when I walk downstairs with a big ole tattoo on my shoulder."

The two laughed as the waitress came over to get their drink orders. They both wanted water.

"Ty, this is your birthday supper, get whatever you want." Amy said as the waitress walked away.

"Ames, I already have what I want. I have you, that's all I need." Ty said, reaching over the table to grasp her hand and squeeze gently.

Amy smiled softly, "I love you, Ty."

He got a spark of mischief in his eyes and grinned at her, "Would you still love me if I got a full sleeve?"

Amy's voice, when she answered, was flat and blunt, "Don't push your luck with the tattoos, Ty."

They both laughed as their glasses of water were brought to the table.

_**End**_

**I don't know if I said so or not, but I got my belly button pierced Feb. 1st, and today I just got on this tattoo hype. I want a tribal tattoo really bad. Will I get one? Probably not, but that doesn't mean I can't want one! Haha! Sorry about the weak ending, I'm getting really good with oneshots but ending them is still really difficult for me.**

**P.S. The image I chose is just to show what a tribal looks like, not exactly the one you have to picture for Ty. Just wanted to make sure that everyone knew what I was talking about a little bit, haha. God Bless!**

** .xX**


End file.
